Kaspersky Interview

Which Country Is Best Prepared For Cyberwar?

EK: First of all, mobile systems are going to replace computers. In the home environment, there will be many different devices connected to the same network. So there will be screens everywhere: a big screen in the bedroom, a medium-size screen in the kitchen, a small screen in the bathroom. You will be connected all the time, and it will mostly be on Android systems.

Android is the same story as Microsoft Windows. Microsoft did the best in promoting Windows, and [because of this] engineers were forced to do more and more software for Windows. Now exactly the same is being done by Google. They are an open-system company; now they are pushing engineers to develop more and more software for this system. It’s much easier to integrate this operating system into new devices. Actually, it’s the only operating system that is allowed to be used in any device, so new manufacturers are forced to use Android. That’s why I think in the future Android will be the clear leader. Maybe Google Android is the next Microsoft Windows.

Cybercriminals, of course, will follow. I will not be surprised if traditional cybercriminals — the old-school — will not adapt to Android. To switch to a different operating system, to produce software for a different operating system, is like speaking a different language. And humans are humans: lazy! So I think that the old-school cybercriminals will employ younger ones. Then the young ones will recognize that they don’t need managers. Then we’ll see a fight between the old-school and the new kids.

Through your labs’ technologies, you have a unique perspective on where malware and viruses are being produced. What countries are they usually coming from?

EK: Malware doesn’t have a passport, so it is very difficult to recognize which country has produced it. But in many cases it’s possible to recognize the language that coded it — the language that is spoken by the malware. So most malware speaks Chinese, but it’s not just [coming from] China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It’s also Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and California (laughs).

The second big type of malware is Spanish- and Portugese-speaking malware. And the third is Russian-speaking malware.

Why do you think there are so many Chinese-, Portugese- and Russian-speaking individuals producing malware?

EK: I think that there are several different reasons for this. It’s not just economical reasons, and it’s not just how well the cyberpolice is developed in these countries. I also think there is something in the culture and mentality. For example, China and India are almost the same size countries, in very similar economic situations and internet penetrations, [with the same] number of software engineers. A lot of malware comes from China and not so much from India. Why?

Which countries are the best prepared for cybercrime and cyberterrorism today?

EK: Yesterday in the news I read about a new Indian tribe that was discovered in the Amazon jungle. They say that there are about 200 Indians in this tribe, and they are still not in touch with civilization. They are the best protected!

Resources/More reading

The Point Of No Return (The Atlantic) - http://bit.ly/cHBk0pAmerica Has Double Standards In Fighting Cyberwar (FT) - http://on.ft.com/j4vYCOCyber Combat: Act Of War (WSJ) - http://on.wsj.com/iu3dPaA Declaration Of Cyber-War (Vanity Fair) - http://vnty.fr/ezzmtO